Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) is projected to defeat Republican healthcare executive Rick Jackson in Georgia's gubernatorial race, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). With 71% of the expected vote counted, Bottoms holds an 11-point lead, flipping the state's highest office to the Democratic Party for the first time in more than two decades.
Bottoms, who served as a senior adviser to former President Biden, will become Georgia's first Democratic governor since Roy Barnes left office in 2003. The state had been under Republican control for over 20 years, with outgoing Governor Brian Kemp having been term-limited.
Election handicappers at Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball had rated the race as a toss-up as recently as late October. A poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the University of Georgia had shown Bottoms with a narrow lead over Jackson.
Bottoms received a significant boost when former President Obama appeared at a rally with her and Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in late October, a move that likely energized Democratic voters in the final stretch of the campaign.
For Republicans, the loss is a bitter one. President Trump had endorsed Jackson in July, calling him a "true champion for the people" at a rally in Cobb County. That endorsement came after Trump had initially backed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R), who lost to Jackson in a primary runoff.
The result marks a dramatic shift in Georgia's political landscape, which has seen Democrats make inroads in recent cycles, including Biden's narrow win in the state in 2020 and the election of two Democratic senators in the 2021 runoffs. Bottoms's victory could have implications for the 2026 midterms and beyond.
Bottoms's win is part of a broader trend of Democratic gains in the South, and it will be closely watched as a bellwether for the party's prospects in the region. Her administration will face challenges including infrastructure, voting rights, and economic development.
Jackson conceded the race, congratulating Bottoms on her victory and urging his supporters to come together for the good of the state. "We may have lost this election, but we must not lose sight of our shared values," he said in a statement.
Bottoms's victory also makes her one of the few Black women to serve as governor in U.S. history, a milestone that has drawn national attention. She will be inaugurated in January.
